Improved rotary steamship



UNITED STATES DAVID F. MASNATA,

or NEW vonk, N. Y.

I'MPRovED ROTARY sTEAMsHIP.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 53, i60, dated March13, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID F. MAsNA'rA, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented a new and Improved Recto-Rotary or RevolvingSteamship 5 and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in theart to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is atop or plan view of myim proved steamship. Fig. 2 is a verticalcross-section of the same, taken through the line w Fig. 1.

- Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same, taken throughthe line zz, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-section of the same,taken through the line yy, Fig. l.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

My invention has for its object to furnish a Steamship in which greatvelocity shall be obtained in connection with entire safety; and itconsists of a revolving steamshi p constructed and arranged ashereinafter more fully described.

A is the driving-shaft, to which motion is given by a steam engine orengines, the cylinders of which are so arranged that their pis rtons mayact at right angles to each other, so

as to counteract any tendency to oscillate which the shaft A mightotherwise have.

B is a hollow cylinder firmly connected at oneend to the shaft A by'asolid head, C, having holes through it for the purposes of ventilation.`This head C ma be replaced by radial arms lirml y connected to both theshaft A and the cylinder B, the ventilation being obtained# through thespaces between the said arms.

D are radial arms, forming at their point of intersection at the centerof the cylinder bearings in which the shaft A revolves, and by which itis kept in its proper relative position with respect to the cylinder B.These arms pass through openings in the sides of the interior cylinder,E, and to their ends are pivoted friction-wheels F, running in a grooveformed on the inner surface ofthe cylinder B, or formed in a circularrail rmly attached to the interior surface of said cylinder.

To the outer surface of the cylinder B are continuous line from one endof the cylinder to the other, but the partition which separates any twocompartments of one section is set opposite the middle of a compartmentin the next section, as shown in Fig. l.

The mouth of every alternate compartment in each and every section isclosed with a casing, I, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Thus perfectlyairtight compartments, by means of which great buoyancyis obtained, areformed in regular and symmetrical order all over the surface of therevolving cylinder, each closed and air-tight compartmentalternating-with an open one of equal capacity, which lattercompartments act as paddles in carrying the ves- 7 sel forward over thewater.

One end of the cylinder E terminates in a head, J, corresponding to thehead O of the cylinder B. Through this head J are formed openings forventilation, and through its center passes the shaft A, which thussupports one end of the said cylinder. The other end is supported by thearms D, already described, and thecylinder is kept from revolving by theengines and heaviest part of the cargo being placed in the lower part ofthe said cylinder, thus bringing the center of gravity much below theaxis of revolution, which, as the cylinder hangs loosely upon the shaftA, keeps the cylinder always in the same vertical position.

One end of the 4cylinder E projects beyond the endot' the cylinder B, asseen in Figs. 1 and l 3, and through this projecting end are formed thepassage-ways for ingress to and egress from the vessel. Through thisprojecting end of the cylinderE are also formed the passageways to andfrom the gallery K, which passes wholly around the ship, and issupported at one end by being firmly and rigidly attached to the saidprojecting end of the cylinder E, and at the other end by being hungfrom the shaft A, as shown in Figs. l and This gallery forms apromenade-deck for the passengers, and upon it Staterooms for theiraccommodation may be erected if desired, and the rooms thus locatedwouldI- be safe from any liability to danger from explosions, theboilers being located in the interior of the vessel, ras beforedescribed. This gallery, being rigidly connected to the cylinder E, alsoacts as a guard to the said cylinder, should it from any cause have atendency to revolve, and by comingin contact with the surface of thewater it prevents such revolution, thus furnishing a still further guardto the stability of the interior cylinder, E. This vessel moves forwardby revolving upon the water, being buoyed up by the air-chambers beforedescribed, and it is guided by two rudders, L, one on each side, `asshown in Fig. l. These rudders may be so arranged that they can belowered into the water as and when required for changing the course ofthe ship, and again raised when no longer required.

The revolving cylinder B may be made of a greater diameter in comparisonwith the diameter of the vessel than as represented in the drawings, andit would do no harm if said cyl! inder, as it revolves, should passbelow the water-line 5 butin this case the water should l be preventedfrom entering the-interior of the cylinder by circular guards or win gsattached to the ends of said cylinder, or by making the holes forventilation closer around the crank.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Let-I ters Patent- An improvedrecto-rotary or revolving steamship formed by combining an interiorstationary cylinder, E, and an exterior surrounding gallery, K, with theshaft A and exterior revolvingcylinderB,provided on its exterior surfacewith alternate paddles and air-tight compartments, the Whole beingconstructed and combined substantially as herein described,

and for the purposes set forth.

DAVID F. MASNATA. Y

Witnesses:

PETER COOKE, J AMES T. GRAHAM.

